Name: Capitola Village
Item: Capitola Village
Author: Marilyn

Indian village to Camp Capitola to Capitola by the Sea

Legend has it that our colorful beach town was named after the independent girl Capitola Le Noir, a popular fictional character from the late 19^th century novels of E.D.E.N. (Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte). Says our local history museum, “The name must have seemed a good fit for a plucky little resort that was hard to reach, yet thought to be well worth the effort.”

See a walking tour map here.

Why we ❤ it

History. Capitola is built on an ancient Indian village and in 1791, the Native inhabitants were removed to the Mission Santa Cruz. In the following Mexican Era, the territory became part of the Soquel Rancho granted to Martina Castro and husband Michael Lodge in 1833.

California became a state and Santa Cruz County was formed in 1850. Then, German immigrant Frederick Hihn—a pioneer credited with developing much of the county’s early industry—acquired the site of present-day Capitola Village from the Castro family.

The beach became a busy shipping point known as Soquel Landing and a wharf was built in 1857.

Drawn by the cooling fog and the beach at the mouth of Soquel Creek, vacationers seeking a break from the heat of the Santa Clara and Central Valley found the seashore welcomed relief. Roads over the Summit were improved in the mid-1860s, drawing visitors from Hollister, Fresno, Modesto, and Stockton—towns that lend their names to the streets of Capitola.

Vacation history. Hihn leased the beach flat to Soquel pioneer Samuel A. Hall in 1869. Hall saw an opportunity to profit from the many visitors and in 1874, walked 100 hogs over the hill to market to finance the project and created “Camp Capitola”. Folks braved the wagon journey over the Santa Cruz Mountains to camp on our beautiful shoreline—originally a few canvas tents, a livery stable, a couple of excursion boats, and of course, a dance floor. The cost to stay: $1 a day for adults and 50 cents for kids and horses. The camp’s success was guaranteed by rail passenger service in 1876.

In 1882, Hihn subdivided lots and the old camping spot grew into “Capitola by the Sea,” and became a vacation spa with a 160-room hotel, hot saltwater baths, and electric streetcar service from Santa Cruz.

Hihn died in 1913, and Henry Rispin, a speculator from San Francisco, bought Capitola in 1919 with plans to build a fashionable haven. Overextended and losing his holdings, Rispin left Capitola after the start of the Great Depression of 1929. His abandoned mansion remains on Capitola Wharf Road.

Condo history. Built in 1924, our historic Venetian Court hotel sitting on the beach just east of the pier is designated on the Register of National Historic Places as “The first Condominium Beach Community in the United States.” The very first beach condos—that’s us!

Once the begonia capital of the world. The beautiful Pacific hybrid begonia was originally developed right here by our own Brown Bulb Ranch (now a shopping center on 41st Avenue). For forty mid-century years, it supplied some 90% of the world’s begonia bulbs. In the early 1950s, an enterprising young Capitolian swim-instructor took advantage of all those unused flowers to decorate the paddle boards for her water follies. And that’s how the the Capitola Begonia Festival began. The event ended a few years ago.

Soquel Creek. The 16+ mile long creek originates in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and flows through Soquel Village and empties into Soquel Cove in Capitola Village. It’s home to wildlife and steelhead trout.

Easy living. The village retains the feel of a small, vintage beach side town, where galleries and boutiques decorate quaint streets. The esplanade welcomes locals and visitors with ocean view dining, nightlife and lazy afternoons on the beach.

Capitola Village

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